


Kiss the Cook

by ArtemisWinnick



Category: Animal Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Drug Use, F/M, Mental Health Issues, let's pretend I know anything about playing guitar, the Codys desperately need therapy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:07:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26615695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemisWinnick/pseuds/ArtemisWinnick
Summary: When J brings a friend over to dinner, she catches Pope's attention... Is she up to something or does he just have a crush?
Relationships: Andrew 'Pope' Cody/Original Female Character, Joshua 'J' Cody/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a one shot I posted on my tumblr with the intention of turning it into a fully-blown fan-fic. IDK if I'm gonna finish this one, honestly, but I wanted to post what I have because I like it and I don't see a lot of stuff written for Pope. He's a difficult character to write for, I'll give you that, but so complex and interesting I just wanted to explore him a little.  
> I just wanted to warn you all before you start reading that this story is in-keeping with the themes in Animal Kingdom. Basically, this means there's still a lot of in-fighting between the brothers, toxic traits/ habits, drug-use, avoidance of therapy/medication for mental health issues, paranoia, etc. I kept these elements, not because I personally approve of them or think these characters should be viewed as role-models, but because I was trying really hard to keep the guys in-character and to imitate the dialogue pattern of the show. Feel free to let me know your thoughts and critiques in the comments!  
> XOXO  
> Artemis

J’s new girlfriend weirded Pope out immediately. She looked totally normal, just like all the other giggling girls he brought by the house. Except she didn’t giggle-- she smiled, big and bright and genuine. Admittedly, that wasn’t particularly weird either. Except she gave him a once over first, her eyes traveling up from the tips of his toes, up past the apron he was wearing, the casserole he was holding, and finally up to his frozen expression. This was supposed to be a  _ family only _ dinner. Even  _ Craig  _ hadn’t brought any of his groupies--

“Kiss the cook, huh?” She asked, flitting from J’s side to give Pope a quick kiss on the cheek. The contact of her lips on his skin, brief as it was, burned him. Kiss the cook? He looked down-- that’s what it said on the apron he was wearing. Right. “I’m Dawn, it’s nice to meet you.”

He stared at her. J stared at him staring at her, obviously wondering if his dinner date was going to cause a classic Pope meltdown. Noticing the sudden tension, a quizzical little frown settled over her features and she looked to J and then back at Pope. 

“This is usually where you say, ‘Hi, Dawn, nice to meet you to my name is so and so,’” She prompted him. He knew that if he spoke his voice would break and embarrass him like it always did around attractive women-- attractive? When had he registered that she was attractive?-- so he stayed silent and just made the stare more menacing. She squinted at him. 

“This is my uncle, Pope,” J attempted to salvage the situation, approaching in that stupid, quietly confident way of his. Pope saw a little flicker of recognition in her eyes. This was it. This was usually when recognition was followed by a flash of fear-- he’d built quite a bit of a reputation in Oceanside-- but, instead, the bright smile made a reappearance. 

“Oh? Well it’s nice to meet you, Pope,” The only thing that changed about the expression was a little quirk in her brow, like she found his hostile stare amusing. J was at her elbow now, greetings somewhat successfully exchanged, to tug her away towards the patio. Pope thought he was free of her gaze but she looked back at him, grin widening. “We’ll continue the staring contest later!”

And with that she was out on the patio with everyone else. As Pope continued his meal prep in the kitchen, he decided he didn’t like her. He didn’t like her one bit. What was with the smiling? And the kiss? And the childish comment about staring contests? She was obviously just using J as an in, but what she really wanted was a Cody. Any Cody. If she wanted drugs, she’d go after Craig next. If she wanted money or power though, maybe she figured she could try for Pope. That wasn’t usually a popular strategy because of… obvious reasons, but maybe Dawn didn’t realize that J was Smurf’s current favorite and not him. He realized, even as he thought through all the possible conniving machinations this new girl was trying to pull, that he was probably making a bigger deal of this than necessary, but he hadn’t made it this far by  _ not _ putting his paranoia to good use. 

He watched through the large, sliding glass doors as she said hi to Craig and Deran. Deran, being Deran, hardly looked up from his phone. Craig, on the other hand gave her a bear hug, lifting and squeezing. Pope rolled his eyes. He’d only done that so he could feel her boobs. So stupid.

Dawn smiled at Craig when he put her down, but it was different this time. Tight, uncomfortable, it didn’t reach her eyes… Pope kept his eyes fixed on her, studying that expression. He wasn’t particularly good at identifying emotions besides fear, anger and general shadiness. But even with his gut instincts and never-ending supply of suspicion, she didn’t look like she was trying to seduce Craig as she quickly got away from him. Well, too early to tell anyway.

Lena was sitting on the stairs in the pool, right in Pope’s line of sight with her floaties on. He ruffled as the girl didn’t move to say hello to her, going to one of the lawn chairs and putting down her purse. Not saying hello to Lena… even Craig’s groupies did that! He chopped the carrots a little more aggressively while J got close to her, putting his hands on her hips. They whispered together for a moment. He kissed her. Pope annihilated the vegetables under his blade. J wandered off and Dawn pulled her t-shirt over her head. His knife paused, hovering over the cutting board as she unzipped her shorts. He quickly looked away as she pulled them down and continued with his task.

His head snapped back up when there was a sudden splash.

\-------------

So… Pope already hated her, Deran was a dick, and Craig was probably going to try and grab her ass before the night was done. Awesome. Like she hadn’t already been uncomfortable being at the Cody household. She wasn’t sure why J had invited her over here in the first place, it wasn’t like she’d been insisting on meeting his family. They’d been hooking up on and off for a few months, but she hadn’t thought it was anything serious. Come on, he was a Cody-- everyone knew they didn’t  _ do _ serious relationships. 

Now that their grandmother was in jail indefinitely though, it seemed like he wanted to take advantage of his newfound freedom and fuck her in his own bed-- AKA, his grandmother’s bed. Or so she’d extrapolated. J was a man of few words. 

After Craig felt her up, she was already thinking of excuses for getting the fuck out of Dodge.

“I think I’m probably going to dip before dinner,” She whispered to J. “I don’t think your uncles want me here.”

J smirked a little, a subtle expression just like all the other ones he had in his repertoire.

“Ignore them,” he told her. “I thought you wanted to use the pool, anyway? And, if you stick around, maybe later…”

He put his hands on her hips and her mouth twisted up in a half-smile. He  _ knew _ the sex was good and that it was the main reason she was here, observant little bastard. He leaned down slow and gave her a kiss, just the tip of his tongue reaching out to hers for one brief moment before he pulled back. It was enough to send a shiver down her spine. She snorted and shook her head when he pulled away.

“What?” He smiled at her response.

“Fine!” She exclaimed good naturedly, before leaning to his ear and whispering. “I’ll stay so you can fuck the shit out of me later, but if things get too awkward I’m leaving, okay?”

“Fair enough,” He acceded before kissing her again. “Beer?”

“Yes, please,” She replied. He walked away in search of alcohol and she looked around for something to occupy herself. Scanning the patio, she realized there was a little girl sitting on the stairs, playing with some toy boats. She’d been so quiet she hadn’t even noticed she was there. Dawn couldn’t help but frown a little, watching her play by herself. J should have said something instead of letting her ignore her like an asshole.

She stripped down to her bikini quickly-- ignoring Craig’s eyes on her rack as she bent over-- and approached the little girl. 

“Hi,” She smiled at her, sitting at the edge of the pool next to her. “Whatcha up to?”

The little girl looked up at her with huge brown eyes. 

“...Who are you?”

Ah, she had all of her uncles’ social skills. 

“I’m Dawn… what’s your name?”

“Lena… are you here with uncle Craig?” The girl turned those big eyes back to her boats.

“Nope,” She popped the P. “J invited me over so I could use the pool… do you swim?”

The little girl glanced up at her and showed her the floaties on her arms.

“A little but uncle Pope says I’m not allowed in the pool without my floaties,” She sighed.

“You’re uncle is a smart guy, this pool is pretty deep… It’s perfect for cannon balls, actually,” Dawn observed casually.

“Cannon balls?” Lena looked at her dubiously.

“Yeah, cannon balls. You know how to cannon ball, don’t you?”

Lena shook her head. Dawn’s mouth dropped open with an excited little gasp. 

“It’s super easy, Lena. You want me to show you?”

“Okay,” She nodded, a tentative smile finally appearing on her face. Dawn got up and extended a hand to her. 

“Alright, so,” She lead her around to the deep end of the pool. “What you do is you stand running distance away from the edge… like… right here?”

She backed up about five feet from the edge and Lena followed suit.

“And when you’re ready you run to the edge and jump in, putting your knees to your chest,” She crouched down so she could tuck her knees as described. Lena imitated her. “And then put your arms around your knees so you become a little ball. See?”

“I’m a cannon ball!” Lena exclaimed. Dawn laughed.

“Now you’re getting it! Alright, you wanna try?” 

She nodded enthusiastically. J had returned to the patio with two beers and smiled a little at her before taking a seat to wait for her.

“Okay, on the count of three. 1… 2… 3!” With a shout and laughter they rushed towards the edge and jumped in together. Dawn resurfaced to find Lena already bobbing at the surface, shrieking happily.

“Again! Again! Again!”

\----------------

J’s girlfriend didn’t leave Lena’s side for the next half hour while Pope cooked, splashing around in the pool. There were a couple times when Lena started running on the wet pavement that he almost had to come outside, but Dawn was faster than he was.

“Hold your horses, kid!” He could hear her exclaim, coming to her side quickly and taking hold of her hand. “Remember, you don’t run by the pool unless you want to fall on your butt!”

That made Lena laugh. She hadn’t stopped laughing, actually, since that girl had started talking to her. Pope watched her from the corner of his eye as he began setting the patio table for dinner. Spotting him, she immediately walked straight to him, Lena in tow. He kept his head down, hoping she would walk right past. Of course, she didn’t.

“Would you like some help?” She asked tilting her head a little to catch his gaze. “Lena and I can put the dishes out, if you want?”

Pope just looked at her a second and then cleared his throat. His voice was  _ not _ going to break.

“Okay,” he agreed. Lena was already holding out her hands, so he handed her the cutlery. For her, his favorite and only niece, he cracked a smile. “But you’ve got to be careful and not drop anything!”

“Duh!” She was already gone to start arranging the knives and forks. Which left Dawn, smiling at him expectantly.

“Uh… Plates are inside,” He said, avoiding eye contact as he turned heel and went back inside. She followed him. He handed them to her silently, but she lingered.

“Hey, I… I wanted to apologize for earlier. I shouldn’t have just, uh, kissed you without knowing if it was okay first. I know some people don’t like being touched and it was rude of me. It’s just you were wearing the apron and I was nervous and I thought it would be funny for some reason, but it obviously wasn’t…” She rambled, but stopped herself with a shake of the head and a shy little smile. “Anyway, sorry for being all up in your space.”

As though she knew he wasn’t going to respond, she immediately went back outside after her apology, leaving Pope staring after her. He _ didn’t  _ like being touched by strangers, that was true. But no one had ever apologized for that before, they’d just eventually learned to back the fuck off after a couple of glares thrown in their direction. Or being punched a couple of times, depending on how insistent they were being about invading his personal space. He continued what he was doing, gathering plates of food and bringing them to the table, Dawn lithely stepping out of his way so he could set them down without bumping into her as he came in and out of the house. He could hear her talking to Lena through the open door.

“Finished!” Lena informed her as she set down the last knife. 

“Ooh, good job! That was really fast,” Dawn told her, putting down the last of the plates. “Let’s ask your uncle if there’s anything else we can do to help, huh?”

Pope came back outside, and, making eye contact only with Lena, said:

“That’s about it, why don’t you go tell the boys dinner is ready?” 

“Okay,” She ran off to do as she was told, rallying the lounging men up from their lawn chairs. Dawn smiled after her.

“She’s a great kid,” She commented to Pope. He grunted his assent. She looked at the spread with her hands on her hips. “Christ, this looks good! Did you cook all of this?”

He grunted again in response but couldn’t help his eyes from flickering over to her this time. He found her looking back at him waiting for him to actually say something. A little startled, he went back inside to grab a beer instead. Under the guise of doing this, he watched as the boys gathered around the table. Lena dragged Dawn to the chair next to her, talking animatedly. 

What was this girl’s  _ deal _ ? He continued his surreptitious observation of her as dinner rolled along. She was completely ignoring Craig and even J, not that they weren’t trying to talk to her. For once, the conversation was centered around Lena, who was telling Dawn about school. Dawn looked at her while she spoke, laughing and nodding like this was the most interesting conversation she’d ever had. Like the girl had reminded them their niece existed, Craig, J and even Deran started asking her questions. 

Pope saw how they watched Dawn’s reactions, how she helped Lena articulate was she was thinking and found the humor in it. Lena was smart and funny, just like her mom had been. Pope knew that, but it wasn’t usual for her other uncles to spend so much time talking to her. Dawn was still in her bikini, which explained Craig’s sudden interest, at least, but J just kept smiling softly in her direction throughout the meal. Weird.

It was already odd enough that he’d brought her to dinner at all-- since Mia and Nicky, he hadn’t had a steady girlfriend. Dawn was one in a long line of female visitors, but they never sat down with the family, preferring to sneak in and out under the cover of night. J was a quiet dude, probably to cover up the ulterior motives Pope  _ knew _ he had, but she was actually making him... laugh. And a genuine laugh, too, not just that fake flirtatious crap he pulled to convince girls he wasn’t devoid of personality. Weird. Very weird.

“They’ve been teaching us guitar at school,” Lena continued telling Dawn.

“Really?” She asked. “That’s so cool! I used to take lessons for a long time before, too.”

“Do you play?” Craig asked, blue eyes crinkling with an interested smile. She flashed him a polite version of her own—not half as nice as the one she’d been using earlier, Pope noted.

“I do, actually,” She replied before turning her attention to Lena again. “Maybe you and I can do a duet.”

Lena giggled but shook her head. “Guitar is hard… I’m not good at it.”

“What?” Dawn exclaimed. “I don’t believe that! Here, give me your hand for a second?”

Lena put down her fork and Dawn took her small hand in both of hers, inspecting her palm and fingers with exaggerated care.

“Ah, just as I suspected,” She said, nodding to herself as she released Lena’s digits.

“What?” She asked, staring down at her hands for signs of whatever Dawn had been looking for.

“She’s got guitar-playing hands,” Dawn informed the table sagely. Even Deran had to crack a smile at that. Pope thought he saw J’s hand move to her leg under the table, but she didn’t seem to notice, smiling as Lena cracked up. “You have to practice more, but you’re talented. I can tell by the shape of your fingers.”

She gave Lena a wink.

“You know, I play guitar too,” Craig spoke up. Pope rolled his eyes. Of course, he just had to be the center of attention. 

“Oh? Maybe we can all play together, then,” She smiled a little more genuinely at him now. There it was, the flirtation Pope had been waiting for-- but then she looked over at him shyly. “If your uncles don’t mind me stopping by again, of course.”

“Can she?” Lena asked him, pulling on his sleeve. 

No! He wanted to yell it from the rooftop. He wasn’t sure what she was up to, but whatever it was he was certain it would be no good and he had every intention of just grunting vaguely as a response until Lena gave him her patented puppy dog look, ripped straight from her mother’s old playbook. 

“Please?” She stuck out her lower lip. Pope squinted at her. 

“Fine,” He finally exhaled. A huge smile spread across Dawn’s face.

“You owe me a staring contest anyway,” She reminded him. Craig and Deran looked over at Pope who shifted uncomfortably under their puzzled gazes.

“I wouldn’t get your hopes up,” He muttered at his plate.

“Well, if you’re scared I’m going to win, I’ll just play against Lena,” She shrugged nonchalantly. Lena laughed.

“You have to play now, uncle Pope! Unless you’re scared…” She reached over to tickle him. Pope couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Maybe, we’ll see,” He told her, purposefully keeping his eyes away from Dawn until the conversation had moved on. Only then did he sneak a glance back at her. J was looking at him now, though, hard. He held his eyes unwaveringly until his nephew broke eye contact. Hm. Maybe he  _ was _ good at staring contests.


	2. Chapter 2

“Well, that went better than I expected,” Dawn said as J finally led her to his bedroom. 

“What exactly did you expect?” He asked.

“Nothing, really, but it was nice hanging out with Lena. You’re uncles are… characters.”

“Yeah, they’re assholes. You get used to it.”

She laughed.

“Used to it?” She asked, following him into his room. He closed the door behind him and she stood there, question hanging in the air. He made eye contact with her, a slow smile spreading on his face.

“Yeah, you’ll get used to it,” He stepped closer. He wasn’t that much taller than she was, but he was broad and powerful, heat rolling off of him when he got close.

“Does that mean you’re going to be inviting me over again?” She quirked an eyebrow. 

He looked up as though considering it, his hands finding their way to her hips. Still in her bikini, she could feel his hot, large hands against her skin. She took an involuntary breath in response and his eyes settled back on her, the subtlest of self-satisfied smirks gracing his mouth.

“Maybe,” He replied, leaning down to kiss her. She pulled away and smirked back.

“Gosh, really?” She asked him, her voice high-pitched with sarcasm. Motherfucker liked to act like being invited into his home was some kind of an honor… But, then again, maybe it was. The Cody’s had a reputation around Oceanside. People respected them. Left them alone.

“Mmhm,” J hummed, ignoring her sarcasm with a smirk to close the distance again. He kissed her slow and deep before moving his mouth down to the soft skin of her neck. “Anyway, you've got a duet with Lena and a staring contest with Pope, so you kind of  _ have _ to come back…”

She laughed, pulling him back up to kiss him. Kissing quickly devolved into Dawn’s bikini lying forgotten on the floor as they got up to more x-rated things on his bed. J Cody wasn’t perfect, but he sure knew how to keep her entertained.

\------------------------

The next time Dawn came over to the Cody house, she brought her guitar case with her. Lena was already there and opened the door for her.

“You brought your guitar!” She observed excitedly, grabbing her hand.

“I told you I would, didn’t I? We have a duet to practice,” Dawn smiled down at her and stepped inside. She let Lena drag her to the kitchen where Pope was… fixing up a cheese plate. 

She took in the large, muscles-straining-against-his-button-up, rumored-to-be-incredibly- violent man as he delicately skewered chunks of cheese and ham on little toothpicks. He barely glanced up at her, but she could see how he immediately tensed. She greeted him anyway. 

“Hey.”

He didn’t respond, of course. 

“Look, she came and she brought her guitar-- I told you she would,” Lena told her uncle, some petulance tingeing her voice.

“Of course I did, why wouldn’t I?” Dawn asked, looking down at Lena and then back at Pope. His eyes flickered up, but she knew he wasn’t going to answer her question. Holding back a sigh, she followed up with something more practical. “Where can we set up so we don’t bother anybody?”

“Anywhere,” He shrugged, eyes on his cheese plate. “But the living room is good.”

“I’m gonna go get my guitar, I’ll be right back,” Lena squeezed Dawn’s hand before trotting off. The little gesture made Dawn’s chest tighten. It was like the girl was afraid she would just disappear. Which reminded her…

“Did you tell her I wasn’t coming?” She asked Pope, studying his face for a reaction. His eyes slid up to hers.

“Didn’t want her to get too excited, is all,” He explained, before holding out the cheese plate to her. “Hungry?”

Dawn looked at the proffered plate with some surprise before she took a toothpick. When she’d swallowed, she realized she had yet another question. Pope seemed to have a limit on how many words he was allowed to say every day, but hopefully he’d answer this one as well.

“Is J around?” She covered her mouth as she spoke.

“He’s running errands,” He informed her. “He’ll be back later. Probably.”

“Okay,” She shrugged, turning to head for the living room. Pope was just about to relax when she turned back around, tilting her head at him. “Do you wanna join us?”

“I’ll bring you guys your snacks now,” He said noncommittally. She shrugged again and finally left. Only then did Pope exhale. 

\--------------

Cheese plate devoured and guitars out of their cases, Pope could hear the sounds of Lena and Dawn tuning their strings from the kitchen where he stood having a beer. Then, Lena laughed and the noise suddenly stopped. The sound of Dawn’s low voice could barely be heard until she also laughed. Surreptitiously, he moved closer to the living room to listen in.

“Alright, just put your index finger here and press down hard. Good! Then strum with your other hand, down, up, down down, up…” 

Slightly off key, the chord slid through the air to the rhythm of Lena’s hesitant strumming.

“There you go! Perfect,” Dawn continued until Lena had practiced all the chords. She’d picked an easy song for them to start with, Can’t Help Falling in Love.

_ Wise… men… say… only fools rush in… _

Dawn sang louder than she talked. Confidently. Her voice rang clearly through the hallway separating the kitchen and the living room. Pope’s beer hovered just in front of his mouth as he listened. When it was Lena’s turn, she started and then stopped several times, getting a little lost. Dawn just laughed patiently.

“No biggie,” She said when Lena messed up the strumming, “Just remember: down, up, down down, up. Let me hear it again.”

Lena managed it this time. A smile spread on Pope’s face, hearing his niece play. It only took them a couple more run throughs until she was playing her simple chords at the same pace as Dawn.

“Now that we have that down, I’m going to add some stuff while we play. You just keep doing what I taught you and don’t stop,” the woman instructed. 

They started again, but while Lena strummed, Dawn picked at her guitar like a harp, breaking up the chords until the notes wove beautiful patterns. The smile that had lingered on his Pope’s quickly dropped off of it when he saw Craig come stumbling out of his bedroom across the patio.

“‘Sup,” He greeted his brother as he blew through the open sliding doors and passed him on his way towards the living room.

“‘Sup.” Pope returned dryly, clenching his fist around his beer before setting it down and following him.

“No one came to get me for this jam session? Really, guys?” Craig accused playfully, interrupting their song. Pope saw Dawn tense a little, but she smiled anyway and shrugged. Craig’s expression melted into an eye-crinkling smile. “Can I join you?”

“...Sure,” She agreed slowly. Her assent being all he needed, he was already out of the room to look for his Fender. She raised her eyebrows at his retreating form.

“Sorry about Craig, he’s… he’s Craig,” Pope offered as an explanation. The corners of her mouth turned up amusedly. 

“Don’t worry about it,” She assured him, before turning to Lena. “We’re not going to let him mess up our duet, are we?”

“Nope!” She agreed. Pope smiled at his niece and, this time, Dawn caught the soft expression before he turned to leave.

“You should stay,” She spoke up. He hesitated, so she quickly added: “Lena wanted to show you what I taught her.”

She said it like she knew he wouldn’t say no to that. He raised an eyebrow at her, but he couldn’t make it menacing for some reason. It was almost… good natured. Lena patted the couch next to her, puppy dog eyes firmly on.

“Oh, fine,” He acceded. Just because he was suspicious of Dawn didn’t mean Lena couldn’t keep having a good time. He sat down and Lena started explaining all the chords to him, getting all the way to A minor before Craig came back, electric guitar in one hand and his amp in the other.

“What you have to remember, Lena,” He began, plugging the amp into the wall, “is that Elvis Presley was the king of rock and roll. And there’s nothing more rock and roll... than an electric guitar.”

He strummed his guitar loudly and impressively. Lena laughed, but looked down at her own guitar dubiously.

“Will that sound okay if we all play together?” She asked Dawn, who was shaking her head and smiling at Craig. Pope resisted the urge to stand up and toss Craig’s guitar in the pool. He didn’t really know why he was so pissed at him, but it was Craig, so being pissed at him couldn’t be unfounded.

“‘Course it will!” Craig insisted. “What’s the first chord?”

\----------------

Half an hour later, they decided the ballad would morph into a rock anthem halfway through, where Craig would come in while Lena and Dawn kept singing. Pope had wandered off in search of more beer and less Craig, their voices echoing through the house. He heard them finally get through the song successfully together and when it ended, they erupted into cheers and high fives.

“Good job, kiddo!” He could hear his brother congratulate Lena. It was nice for him to spend time with her, Pope conceded to himself, even if it was just so he could flirt with Dawn.

“Can I…?” He heard the woman in question ask.

“Sure,” Craig replied. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever held one before,” Dawn’s voice was filled with awe. “I can’t believe you have a stratocaster…”

“This old thing…” The flirtatious smile on Craig’s face could almost be heard. 

“Do you mind if I…?” She asked tentatively.

“Of course, go right ahead.”

Moments later the electric guitar could be heard pealing through the house. It was just some random chords as she warmed up, but even that sounded surprisingly impressive. Frowning, Pope headed back to the living room.

“Any requests?” Dawn was asking her rapt audience, glancing at Pope as he appeared in the doorway.

“Jimi Hendrix!” Lena immediately supplied. Craig looked to his niece, an impressed expression on his face.

“Good choice,” Dawn approved, her hair falling over her face as re-adjusted the guitar. She tucked it back and then the familiar opening to Voodoo Child came roaring through the amp.

“ _ Well, I stand up next to a mountain _ ,” She sang, giggling before the next line. “ _ And I chop it down with the edge of my hand-- _ Come on, Lena, sing it with me!”

“Oh, I stood up next to a mountain!” Lena yelled, jumping up and down and karate chopping the air in front of her. 

“And you chopped it down with the edge of your hand!” Dawn yelled back, their voices a silly contrast to the intricate riffs the woman was negotiating out of the instrument. This performance was just Dawn fucking around? 

Somewhere far off in the house, Pope heard a door open and shut. No one else noticed and Dawn continued transitioning to another song, a look of focus on her face as her fingers flew. 

“God, this guitar sounds so good…” She shook her head, her expression almost loving as she kept playing. She opened her mouth to sing again, like that was the most natural thing to do:

_ I’m so high above you and it’s plain to see, _

_ But I came to love you anyway… _

_ Well, you pulled my heart out and I’m on my knees. _

_ Any old time you keep me waiting, waiting, waiting…. _

“Trying to make a point?” J said, appearing in the living room. Dawn cut off the song, her cheeks flushing.

“More!” Lena clapped her hands. 

“That… was fucking awesome!” Craig also clapped his hands. “Where’d you learn to play like that?”

Pope watched how J’s eyes narrowed at his other uncle before he quickly came to Dawn’s side, hanging an arm around her shoulders.

“I’m in a cover band in my off-time,” She admitted sheepishly. “We play at local bars on the weekends sometimes.”

“You’re in a band?” Lena and Craig said simultaneously, hearts in their eyes. They looked at each other and then burst out laughing. 

“Jinx you owe me a soda!” They said it at the same time and then started counting down while J, Pope, and Dawn looked on in equal parts amusement and astoundment. This was almost… wholesome. This kind of thing would never have happened while Smurf was at home. Or even a few days ago, not without--

“Dawn,” J finally spoke up over the din. “You wanna grab a bite?”

“Sure, let me just put my stuff away.”

J nodded and headed down the hallway to go change clothes.

“Aw, are you leaving?” Lena asked. Dawn ruffled her hair.

“For a little while… why don’t you see if Craig will teach you something?” 

“Me?” Craig was caught off guard. Jamming with the hot new girl and his niece, cool. Teaching Lena a whole song by himself, though…

“Yes, you. I thought you were a rock god with that fancy stratocaster?” She smiled winningly at him.

“Well, when you put it like that… C’mere, Lena. You wanna learn some Jimi?”

Dawn started putting her guitar away, glancing over at Pope who was just sipping on his beer… and staring at her. He quickly looked away, his face reddening ever so slightly. When she left the living room, guitar slung on her back, he only waited a beat before following her out.

“Dawn,” He called. She turned, surprise coloring her expression.

“...What’s up?”

“Uh… I was wondering… Lena really likes you,” he began awkwardly.

“You think so?” She smiled like she was surprised. Pope frowned. Could she really be so unaware of the effect she’d been having?

“Are you kidding? She’s been going nuts over you,” He couldn’t stop himself from replying. Her smile got bigger. He stared at it… and then shook his head. He was getting off track. “Anyway, I was wondering if you could give her… guitar lessons?”

“Guitar lessons?” She repeated.

“Well, yeah, because you— you play, obviously, and it’s made her happy so… I don’t know, don’t people say kids need the arts in their life to, you know, really flourish or whatever?” He rambled. She tilted her head in surprise.

“Did J tell you what I was studying?” She asked.

“Uh… Yeah… That’s why I’m asking,” He lied. She looked at him strangely, eyes narrowed.

“You said that like you’re lying,” She observed, laughing a little but then scanning his eyes. His brows knitted together. She could tell he was lying? He was about to start lying about having lied to try and cover up but she continued speaking just as he opened his mouth. “But it’s cool if it’s just a coincidence though, because I’m actually studying behavior analysis. I want to work with kids to help them “flourish,” so yeah… I guess people do say that.”

Say what? He thought to himself, before remembering the bullshit he’d spouted about kids needing the arts just a minute ago.

“...Behavior analysis?” He asked. It sounded familiar for some reason. And not in a good way.

“Yeah, I’m studying to become a behavior therapist— a technician first and then an analyst once I finish my masters degree,” She replied… and watched as his entire body tensed. She frowned in concern. “Are you okay?”

Pope cleared his throat and unfurled his fists.

“You’re... a  _ therapist? _ ”

“Studying to be,” She was looking at him with confusion. Her field of study was pretty useful in helping her break down and understand the behavior of other people. For example, Pope’s reaction just now. That was a pretty averse response, but what was the stimulus that had set it off? The mention of behavior therapy? She wondered why that could possibly be making him tense up, it seemed like such an innocent thing to say—?

“Ready, Dawn?” J reappeared from the bedroom.

“Yep,” She replied, hitching her guitar. Simultaneously, she released Pope from the intent eye-scan she’d been giving him. Pope wasn’t a superstitious man, but it was like she’d stared into his soul and been… perplexed by it. Still, being confused by him didn’t seem to faze her because she turned back just before she exited. “By the way... days, times, and will you be paying me?”

Pope thought to himself for a second, looking off as though calculating factors.

“Thursdays and Fridays at 4 PM, and... yes,” His eyes slid to hers. She’d been trying so hard to maintain his gaze today, to break that layer of ice he kept wrapped around him, but he’d been slippery, avoiding it or looking anywhere but her eyes. Now that he was making eye contact and holding it, though... she felt like she was naked under a spotlight. He noticed how her eyes widened and he smirked a little. “Twenty dollars an hour, probably two hours per session. Is that good with you?”

A smile crept on her face, adjusting to the sensation of Pope actually looking at her. She nodded her agreement.

“That’s cool with me. See you Thursday, then,” She spun on her heel and left.


	3. Chapter 3

J didn’t think of Dawn as his girlfriend. But only because _ she _ didn’t think of herself as his girlfriend. A part of him wished she would. But another part of him figured that if they weren’t officially together and she was cool with that… Then he was free to sleep around with whoever caught his fancy.

Sometimes he liked these other girls, but that and their presence in his life never lasted.  _ That’s _ what made Dawn different. He actually liked her and he hadn’t gotten tired of her yet, even though it had been months of them hanging out. Her only flaw was that bullshit detector she had. 

She could pick up on when he was lying more than anyone else he knew. Usually, she’d call him out on it-- but then there were the times when she would just  _ look _ at him after he told her he’d spent the night at home and not out with some other girl. She’d play it off and switch the subject quickly, but it was something about her expression: knowing, a little amused, but also a little disappointed. 

It made him wonder if maybe he shouldn’t start settling down and actually ask her out, but he hadn’t broached the subject of monogamy yet with her, still enjoying the freedoms of a casual relationship. He’d realized he might have to speed up the timing of it all after watching Craig drool over her today. It had left him feeling some type of way. And then Pope. Just straight up staring at her, that’s what he’d been doing, and it wasn’t just suspicious staring. No, the staring he’d witnessed today… It was almost like his weirdest uncle had been...  _ checking Dawn out.  _

J didn’t like that. J didn’t like that one bit.

He looked at her, sitting across from him at a picnic table in front of their usual taco truck. She was tucking into her food while she regaled him with a story about a heckler at her band’s last performance. He studied her face while she talked, the shape of her with her elbows propped on the table and her cleavage just barely showing at the collar of her button down. 

The story was actually hilarious, at least the way she was telling it, but fuck, she was so pretty it was distracting. He was certain  _ this  _ was why his uncles suddenly wanted to try their hand at family bonding time. So, he waited for her story to wind down, laughing and commenting at all the right places, before he decided to attempt a conversation about… drumroll please… his feelings. He waited for her story to end, made a funny comment to show he’d been listening, and then caught her eyes. He let a slow smile spread across his face.

“You know… I like you,” He began. 

“You must if you’re hitting me with that famous J Cody smolder,” She laughed-- not exactly the response he’d wanted, but not bad either. 

“I’m being serious,” He chuckled.

“Oh, well, if you were being serious, then I like you, too, J,” She returned, like they were kids in a schoolyard. Again, not exactly the response he wanted, but so far so good.

“Did you do something different to your hair?” He asked. She reached a hand to touch the locks in question.

“Not really… I washed it yesterday?”

“It looks good. You look good,” he told her, holding her eyes in a way he was pretty sure would turn her on.

“I better make this washing my hair bit a regular thing, then, huh?” She joked, but he noticed the subtle flush she’d developed. A smile spread on her face. “But what did I do to deserve all these compliments?”

“You were you,” He replied simply. Her smile got wider. This was a weird amount of affection for stoic J. 

“Well, that’s sweet...But why do I feel like you’re going to ask me to do something?” She raised an eyebrow playfully.

“Why aren’t we dating?” He asked suddenly. Not exactly his smoothest attempt, but she liked it when he was straightforward, right? Her eyebrows lifted even higher.

“Why aren’t we dating?” She repeated. “Because neither of us wants to?”

Shit. He tried to maintain control of his features.

“Right, of course,” He took a huge bite of his taco, like there was a chance in hell she was going to just let this slide.

“Wait-- Do you… want to?” She followed up softly, watching his eyes flicker to hers and away again. She sighed gently. “J…”

“It’s okay, Dawn, you don’t need to explain yourself. We agreed this was casual and I’m okay with that,” He lied. Or was he lying? He wasn’t sure, to be honest, but her rejection stung more than he thought it would. Her expression was pained when he looked back up at her.

“J,” She began again. “I think I’m going to explain myself anyway. I really do like you. And I know that you like me, but I don’t think a relationship would work between us. You like your freedom too much and…”

She trailed off.

“And what?” He prompted, seeing the hesitation in her expression. 

“You aren’t the best at communicating,” She rushed out. “At least, not in the way that I would need to feel secure in our relationship. You know me, I’m a very touchy feely person. I like being able to talk things through. But you… you’ve never volunteered that kind of information. And don’t get me wrong, I can accept that as your friend. But that wouldn’t work if we were dating.”

“Who says I can’t change?” He found himself arguing. Why couldn’t he just accept this and be glad he was getting off scot-free? 

“Because that’s a hard thing to do, to just change your nature that way. I’m not saying you won’t learn how to communicate once you’re with the right person and at the right time. But you just had two back to back relationships and neither of them were exactly… healthy... Don’t you think maybe you only want to jump into this with me because you’re not used to being alone?”

J just stared at her, jaw clenching and unclenching. She stared back, knowing he was taking all of this the wrong way. It wasn’t like she was lying, though, was it?

“You could just say you don’t like me the same way, Dawn, instead of psychoanalyzing me,” He told her, an edge to his voice.

“It’s not that I don’t like you, J!” She sighed exasperatedly. “I just don’t trust you.”

She said those cutting words so matter of factly, like it wasn’t personal. He was starting to feel his anger bubbling to the surface.

“You. Don’t. Trust. Me?” He asked through clenched teeth. Now her perpetually soft expression hardened.

“It’s not exactly like you’ve given me a reason to. I mean, when have we ever had a talk this serious before? Huh?” She didn’t wait for a reply because they both knew the answer to that: Never. “Literally all you do is fuck me, hang out sometimes, and then lie about where you’ve been and where you’re going. Somehow, though, you expect me to jump at the chance to date you because… I really don’t know why, honestly. Maybe because the sex is good? Maybe because you’ve got money and every other girl from here to the Mexican border wants a piece of you? But we both know none of those reasons are a good foundation for a healthy relationship!”

J just stared at her. Dawn was one of the most patient people he knew but she’d almost been yelling just now. Seeing his wide eyes, she looked down at the remnants of her taco.

“I’m sorry. This all sounds a lot more insensitive when I say it out loud.”

“I can’t talk to you about my job, Dawn,” He finally spoke again. “For your own sake.”

“I know you can’t. But I just don’t want a relationship with you right now and, frankly, I don’t think you really do either,” She held his eyes, silently pleading with him to admit it.

“I don’t really know what I want,” He mumbled. The corner of her mouth turned up, just like it always did when he was finally being honest with her.

“You just want to be loved,” She shrugged.

He rolled his eyes and she laughed.

“Don’t you roll your eyes at me!  _ Everyone _ needs love, you think you’re exempt from that?” She inquired. “But you don’t need a romantic relationship to be loved. I, for one, love you very much as a friend.”

J glared at her.

“I can’t believe you’re friendzoning me.”

“And I can’t believe you just used the word “friendzone.” Come on, J, you still get to fuck me if you want,” She laughed a little.

He rolled his eyes again and shook his head.

“Oh, well, if I get to keep fucking you I guess everything is fine, then,” He sighed, dryly but not without humor. He knew she was right, fucking psycho-babbling psychic that she was. She grew very quiet, though.

“We don’t have to keep doing this if it’s going to make you uncomfortable. I’ll still be your friend no matter what,” She told him, soft and serious. 

It took J a long moment before he finally opened his mouth to speak. And when he finally did, he did it with the knowledge that she probably wouldn’t continue offering to be friends with him afterwards. 

\-------------

Dawn didn’t come back with J when he returned from their outing. Not that Pope noticed-- though Lena did. He did notice that J seemed even more tightly wound than usual as he stormed off to his bedroom. 

“Trouble in paradise?” He called after him. J ignored him and he heard when his bedroom door slammed, shaking the house. Seemed like Dawn’s chapter in their lives was over and good riddance. 

He shook his head as he kept washing dishes from his and Lena’s dinner. A fucking therapist-- and to think he’d almost stopped being suspicious of her. He was glad she wouldn’t be coming back. J’s parade of whores was way better than dealing with some psycho-babbling, let it all out, safe-space, PC, therapist _ female _ hanging around the house all day.

“Where’s Dawn? I thought she was coming back with J,” Lena said from just behind his elbow. He started and turned back to look at her. How did she always manage to sneak up on him? Nobody snuck up on him.

“She was probably just tired and went home to sleep,” He assured her. Lena didn’t seem to believe him, but she continued with her interrogation anyway.

“Will she be coming for my lessons on Thursday?” She asked, her eyes big, brown, wide, and so, so sad. Pope felt his heart clench.

“Uh, of course she is! She’ll be here on Thursday, I promise,” He told her. Lena nodded.

“Okay. Can I watch TV?”

“Sure, but just until I finish with the dishes and then it’s time for a bath.”

Lena groaned, running to the living room.

“I mean it!” He called after her, before turning back to the dishes. He sighed. Somehow, he was going to have to make sure Dawn showed up for her appointment with Lena. Whether she wanted to anymore or not.

\--------------------------

Dawn was in class on Thursday when she got a text from an unknown number. 

_ This is Pope. Are you coming for Lena’s guitar lessons at 4? _

She frowned. He must have gotten her number from J. She had been planning on it, but maybe now that she and J had broken up lessons were canceled. Not that she and J had really broken up, since they hadn’t been dating to begin with. But-- who was she kidding? Their last talk had definitely felt like a break up and she hadn’t seen him since. She tapped out a reply.

_ Yeah? Unless you would rather not? _

Pope was surprised when she replied. He’d stolen her number off J’s phone-- little shit shouldn’t have left it lying around for anyone to pick up, hack the password, and access all his personal information. Irresponsible of him, really. But she’d replied like she had never considered not coming. He was filled with relief-- for Lena, of course.

_ No, we’re still on. See you at 4. _

He took a deep breath when he sent the message. He just had to avoid her. He knew he was being a little silly-- it wasn’t like she was going to start figuring out all his darkest secrets just by being around him. She wasn’t even really a shrink yet, just a shrink in training. But just the mention of therapy put him on edge. He’d had a bad time when he was younger and then again in prison with psychologists trying to fix him. He’d only ever really opened up once when he was a child-- and, boy, had that turned into a shit show. Child and family services showed up at the house and took him away until his mother was able to convince them he suffered from terrible delusions and nothing he’d told them was true. 

He’d been pretty heavily medicated since then. So, therapists? Devil’s spawn, in his opinion. Straight up evil. His phone buzzed again. A message from Dawn:

_ See you! :) _

A part of him couldn’t help but think that it was kind of odd for devil’s spawn to be sending him smiley faces like she was excited for today’s guitar lesson. He told that part of him to shut the fuck up.


	4. Chapter 4

Dawn showed up at the Cody household at 4:00 PM, guitar slung across her back, nervous as all hell. When J opened the front door, she felt completely validated for her anxiety. He just stood there for a second, staring.

“Hey… I’m here for Lena’s guitar lesson?” Her voice turned up at the end like it was a question. He stepped aside and let her in, turning to go to his room without a word. She sighed a little.

“You’re here!” Lena ran up to her and threw her arms around her. 

“Of course I am, kid,” Dawn smiled down at her and returned the embrace. She knew that her mom had run off and that her father had passed away-- J had told her about it after that first dinner-- which explained why she always seemed to think she was about to vanish in a cloud of smoke. “You ready to get started on becoming a rock goddess?”

“Hell yeah!” 

“Language!” Pope warned from the kitchen. Dawn couldn’t help but laugh as Lena dragged her to him.

“Hey,” She greeted him warmly. He barely looked up. God damn it, hadn’t he been using whole sentences last time they spoke? It was ten steps forward and a hundred steps back with this guy. “Living room like last time?”

“Sure,” He assented, intent on some meat he was marinating. The man had almost no social skills, but, damn, did he know how to cook. For a moment, she watched him as he rubbed seasoning into the steak he had on his cutting board. Lena tugged on her sleeve and she snapped back to the task at hand.

“Craig showed me Wild Thing when you left last time. Wanna hear it?” She asked, pulling her to the living room.

——-

Now that these were actual lessons, the little intro to Wild Thing was the last song they played for a while. After that, Dawn focused on music theory, disguising the important information she was teaching in little imitation games. They went over the notes again— Lena had a very good memory and only needed a little prompting to recite them correctly all the way through. Then it was actually playing them. Strumming patterns were tripping her up, so Dawn had her strum her way through the notes a couple of times. 

It was slow work, but Lena became more confident as the lesson progressed. She was transitioning more smoothly from one finger position to the next and she only hesitated a little on the last beat of the strumming pattern. 

“Now that you’re nice and warmed up—” Dawn began after they’d finished these drills.

“That was the warm up?” Lena exclaimed despairingly.

“What? Are you telling me you don’t want to play our duet?” The woman raised an eyebrow.

“Oh!” Lena nodded. “I thought it was going to be more scales.”

“No more scales for today,” Dawn laughed. “But just remember— scales are how you stretch your fingers, get ‘em limber so you can rock out harder.”

That elicited a giggle and they ran through the song. Lena was already improving, though her little hesitation on the downward stroke started kicking back in inexplicably.

“I’m not good at this,” She stopped playing, sighing frustratedly. 

The sudden silence was noticed in the kitchen. Frowning, Pope stepped away from the steak strips he’d added to the sauté pan and ambled down the hallway toward the living room. He stopped short of where they’d be able to spot him. He could see their reflection in the floor to ceiling windows. Dawn’s mirror image looked unfazed by the hold up.

“Are you kidding? This was way better than the first time we played it— do you remember what that sounded like?”

Lena wrinkled her nose.

“Not good.”

“Nope. And, you have to admit, this time was a lot better than that— I’m thinking tomorrow we can work on teaching you my part of the song.”

”But that looks hard,” She frowned dubiously.

“It isn’t really— you just have to take it step by step. You’ll see,” The woman smiled. “Let’s finish the song and then we can call it a day, deal?”

“Deal,” Lena put her hands back in position. Pope wandered back to the kitchen, feeling at odds with himself. He didn’t like this woman. But he liked how good she was with Lena. A part of him wondered if it was her career choice that gave her an edge with kids. He didn’t want to admit that might be a factor, but, even if it was, he was certain Dawn might just be innately good with kids. Like a snake charmer.

He tensed when they finally emerged from the living room. He could feel her eyes on the back of his neck. 

“Well, that’s all for tonight… I’m gonna get out of here,” she announced.

“No! Don’t go… Why don’t you stay for dinner?” Lena whined. At that, Pope snapped his gaze towards his niece and then to the woman she was so insistent on keeping around, glaring at her in a way he hoped clearly conveyed that it was time to go home. Seeing the glare, Dawn’s eyes widened. She quickly shook her head.

“Oh, that’s okay, Lena, I’ve got food waiting at home,” She lied. “I’ll be back tomorrow anyway for our lessons. Come here, give me a hug.”

She knelt to embrace the child who was still pouting. 

“Next time stay for dinner?” Lena asked, squeezing her tight.

Dawn glanced up at the man who was pointedly looking elsewhere now. God, Pope was either hostile or unresponsive and, as understanding as she wanted to be, there was also a part of her that just wanted the damn ice to melt already-- and stay melted.

“You know what?” Dawn pulled back from the hug to smile widely at Lena. “I’d love to stay for dinner next time… if your uncle Pope doesn’t mind?”

She smiled innocently at the man who now had no choice but to look back at her. There was a long, awkward pause.

“We’ll see. Might be too busy to cook.” He finally grunted.

“Uncle Pope…!” Lena exclaimed, turning around in disbelief. “But you always--!”

“Lena,” He warned, raising his eyebrows before she could say something incriminating in front of Dawn.

“Alrighty, see you guys later then!” Dawn said her farewell sunnily and then swept out of the kitchen, satisfied at having put him in an uncomfortable position. Pope shot another glare at her retreating form.

Lena crossed her arms the moment the woman was out of the kitchen, her face twisted up in a rather adult expression of anger.

“Uncle Pope, why don’t you ever want Dawn to stay? She’s so nice!”

Pope sighed as he turned over the steak strips.

“She had food at home, Lena, I had nothing to do with it.”

“I saw you, Uncle Pope! You were making scary faces at Dawn so she’d leave,” She accused. Pope frowned down at the girl. When had she gotten so observant?

“I was not making scary faces at Dawn! I-- I just… Lena, I only made enough food for you and me. It wouldn’t have been nice to invite her if there isn’t enough food,” he scrambled for an adequate reason. Lena wasn’t having it.

“That’s a lie,” She proclaimed. “There is  _ so _ much food in the fridge.”

“Kid, I’m not liking your tone--,” Pope began his warning, but stopped short as Lena crossed to the fridge to prove her point. Flinging it open, she exposed the freshly stocked freezer full of pizzas and different cuts of meat. He crossed his arms. “Oh, I’m sorry, and who was going to cook all of that raw food, Lena? I worked for hours on this meal and I’m not about to--.”

Without hesitation, she threw open the refrigerator door and jabbed a finger at the cold cuts.

“Sandwiches are food, too.”

Pope narrowed his eyes. What the hell was going on? Was this a coup? Had Dawn poisoned his sweet Lena against him?

“What’s gotten into you, huh?” He crossed over to gently shut the fridge and freezer doors. “You never used to talk to me this way…”

“Uncle Pope,” Lena sighed exasperatedly. “She’s my friend! I like her! And if you just gave her a chance you would like her too! Next time I want her to stay for dinner. Please?”

“No.” He replied immediately, unmoved.

“What? Why?” She whined, her voice growing louder. “Come on, pleeeease?”

“No, Lena! I’m trying to finish your dinner-- Please, just go watch TV,” He admonished her, a little more strongly than he’d intended. The girl’s eyes welled with frustrated tears.

“You always say that when you want to get rid of me,” She pushed a clenched fist against her eyes, before running towards her bedroom. Pope watched her go-- not to where he’d asked her to go, of course-- and debated whether chasing after her was the right thing to do or whether he should give her space. He decided to finish up dinner and then go knock on her door. Lord knew if that was the best option but… he shook his head frustratedly. This parenting shit was hard. 

When dinner was ready, he fixed up a beautiful plate for Lena and knocked on her door. He was hoping she’d calmed down, it’d been almost ten minutes--.

“Go away!” She yelled. Pope sighed and leaned his forehead on the door.

“Lena, I’m coming in. We need to talk,” He informed her, opening the door. She scowled at him from the bed before taking her plushie toy and turning decisively away from him, pulling the covers up over her face. He repressed another sigh and sat on the edge of her bed holding her plate.

“You aren’t hungry?” He asked. She wiggled further under her covers as a reply. “You haven’t had anything to eat for hours, Lena. You’ve gotta eat.”

“I’m not hungry anymore,” She sniffed. Her voice sounded wet-- the way it did when she’d actually been crying rather than engaging in some good old crocodile tears. The little break in her voice hit Pope right in the gut.

“Lena…” He began softly, setting her plate down on the nightstand. “I wasn’t trying to get rid of you.”

“Yes, you were,” She contradicted from under the covers.

“No, I wasn’t,” He said firmly. She sat up now, the covers falling from her face.

“Yes. You. Were!” She beat her fists against the mattress, her little face red. “Everyone does that-- You get tired of me and send me to watch TV. Every time.”

“Lena, I could never get tired of you. Never,” Pope shook his head emphatically. “You’re my favorite niece, how could you think that?”

“I’m your  _ only _ niece,” She rolled her eyes and flopped back down onto the bed. She didn’t pull the covers over her face, though, which was progress.

“So what? I could have had a niece that sucked, but instead I have you. You’re awesome,” He cracked a smile for her, reaching out to tickle her. She chortled before she could stop herself, shoving his hand away.

“Quit it!” She whined half-heartedly. She sat up again with a sigh, looking down at her hands. “I… I don’t have a lot of friends, Uncle Pope.”

Pope’s brows knit together. He knew where she was going with this-- leading the conversation straight back to Dawn-- but he wasn’t going to be following her there easily.

“What do you mean? You have friends at school, right?”

“Yeah… but no,” She sighed. “We talk in class, but they don’t really like me. They hang out after school at their houses and never invite me…”

“Are they ever mean to you?” He asked slowly.

She shrugged. 

“No… Sometimes...,” She mumbled, staring at her hands while she twisted them together like they were the most fascinating things in the world.

His brows knit further. Those little assholes. What was the point of sending her to that fancy private school if she wasn’t happy?

“So they  _ are  _ mean to you? Lena, why didn’t you tell me before? Or your teachers?”

“I don’t know,” Her eyes welled. “It’s not a big deal I just-- Pope, Dawn is really nice to me. She doesn’t get tired of me, even when I mess up.”

Pope just looked at his niece. “Lena, if girls are being mean to you at school, we need to talk to your teachers--.”

“It’s not a big deal!” She exclaimed. “Uncle Pope, please, can we have Dawn stay for dinner sometimes?”

Pope pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“You want to be friends with a grown woman, but not with the girls in your school? Lena, I don’t know--.”

“Why don’t you like her?” She cut him off, frowning intensely. “I’m not dumb, you know, I can see the way you look at her.”

“I do not look at her,” He protested. Jesus, she really was observant. “And I don’t dislike her, I just… She… She makes me nervous.”

“What? Why?” 

Why? He could have laughed.  _ Because I hate therapists and everything they stand for?  _ No, he couldn’t say that to Lena. She wasn’t ruined the way that he was. Frankly, he wasn’t even sure why he’d said she made him nervous. She didn’t. Did she? Fuck, why did Dawn make everything more confusing even when she wasn’t around?

“Because… I don’t know. She smiles a lot. It’s weird.”

Lena made a face at him. “She’s happy. Why is that weird?”

_ Because I find happiness highly suspicious!  _ Once again, he couldn’t say exactly what was on his mind, so he scrambled for a Lena-friendly translation.

“I-- Lena, it’s hard to explain, she just rubs me the wrong way…”

“Has she been mean to you?” Lena asked her brows knitting in almost a mirror image of his earlier expression. He pursed his mouth.

“No…”

“Then, what--?” She suddenly stopped, gasping. Her eyes opened up wide and bright. “Oh, I know why she freaks you out!”

“You do?” Pope was taken aback. He’d been very careful about what he said, how could she possibly--.

“You like her!” She swung her plushie up and clapped her hands excitedly.

“What? Did you hear anything I just said--? The woman rubs me the wrong way, Lena! That’s the opposite of liking--.”

“But, Uncle Pope, you’re always staring at her. And she makes you nervous,” She started ticking the reasons off on her fingers. “Oh, and you always turn red when she smiles at you--!”

“I do not turn red when she smiles at me!” Pope spluttered, turning red instantly. God damn it, this was getting way off track. “Lena, you want her to stay over for dinner sometimes? Fine. Just don’t ever tell me or anyone else that I like Dawn. Okay?”

“Oh, you wanna keep it a secret? I get it,” She nodded understandingly.

“No! I don’t want to keep it a secret, because there isn’t a secret to be kept-- I don’t like her!” He stood as Lena began to argue. “Now are you going to eat dinner in your room like a weirdo or come watch some TV with me?”


End file.
